The train is starting up!

Hi everyone, Morris here. This is something that I should have done a long time ago, but then again, late than never.

This blog will be my attempt to documenting my level design works, into a online portfolio for all to see. To start things off, I am currently working on a Dota 2 map courtesy of Valve's recent release of the Dota 2 Workshop Tools Alpha just last week Friday.

The documentation website (developer.valvesoftware.com) is certainly a sight for sore eyes; I used to reference to it heavily during my 10-month period in Digipen Singapore, under the Digipen-Ubisoft Designer Programme.

So, what will my map be about? I was inspired by the architectural style of the Mayans and decided to make something similar to it. I did a quick sketch of it on paper to determine a rough idea of how the map will look, which mostly will start to iterate itself during the development process.

Since starting on Saturday evening (August 9th, 2014), the following is my development progress:

My apologies in advance, for the lack of aspect ratio. I am still currently using a 4:3, 1280 x 1024 LCD monitor. Which, I might add, make the workspace quite cramped.

Regardless, so far the map is taking some serious shape and I really like how it is going thus far. I also noticed some restrictions which I can't seem to manipulate at the moment:

• Unable to adjust the size of the Dota Tile Grid. Apparently, once you go into the Tile Editor, Hammer auto-generates a square plain for you. But that's it. You cannot adjust the size of the overall plain in terms of its length and width. Probably something they will add in in the future.
• Measurements is a pain to with, as so far I have to rely on the guide dots on the screen to determine length and width of the tiles I intend to lower or raise. Unlike using brushes where you have see the dimension clearing indicated, with tiles you can't really tell.

However, I understand that the tools are still in Alpha phase. On the contrary, I am extremely pleased and excited to see that the tile editor is making my work a joy to work with. Despite not much community involvement yet, the valvesoftware wiki is proving to be an essential source in getting to know the Dota 2 Workshop Tools.

The following are what I am planning to do at this current moment:

• Include Towers and Structures, for both Radiant and Dire sides. This includes the i/o, which I will be referring to the developer.valvesoftware.com wiki site.
• Slight adjustments to be made to the map, to accommodate the additions of the structures, and to ensure sufficient movement space of the units.
• Addition of the creeps and their movements. Again, will be referring to the wiki site.
• Once all those are done, personal play-test.

Once the map is done and ready for testing, I'll be sure to post it here. I will also be posting a fly-through of the map into YouTube too.